Hot Rod ride report 6/24/08. Just returned from the BEST ride of the season so far. Temp 73 degrees, humidity 38% = tons of power! Went with my friend Rob, who rides a DRZ400SM (SM=super moto). Filled up the tank with 94 octane and took off for winding roads. Rob was in front and was just hammering the corners. It took everything I had, everything, just to keep him in sight. On the straight sections I was back on his tail quickly, and then he would drop me again. I was playing it semi-safe, but had it leaned over pretty well. The “chicken” strips are now gone from the sides of my tires.
What a blast! Apex heaven, tight 90 degree turns in some sections and rises that Rob would wheelie over. Pretty fun to watch a good rider at work. We got into one section of left turn, right turn, big sweeping left, short right and DEER on the side of the road. My heart jumped a beat. Heavy brakes, down shift and slow until we were through the wooded sections. Whew! (deer looked all sleek with their summer coats). I had a slight power wheelie from 2nd to 3rd with a heavy throttle. (where did that come from?! Lets do it again.) Ran it up to 8500 rpm and then hit 4th – love the undercut tranny, just perfect solid engagement every time. Forget about messing with the jetting and needle clips, the power is STRONG in 4th and 5th. Throttle response in top gear roll on is impressive – it responds with zero hesitation. Not enough room to get it past 7000rpm in 5th, but it was illegal as all heck already. I took the lead on the way home and Rob told me he had his bike pegged in top gear just to keep me in sight. I gave it the berries in 5th and was running way up there and then some on a nice two mile straight section, no other cars in front of me. The wind blast was pushing hard and my chin was on the tank. You could just about hear the K&N pods sucking air, very unique and awesome sound – hard to describe, but sort of like a whistle. SWEET. The engine stayed pretty cool because of the air temp. The shaded country road sections were even cooler. Glad I took advantage of this day.
Art